Title: Catching Supernovae in the Act with KISS (Kepler International Supernova Search)

Abstract:
The progenitors of type Ia supernovae remain a mystery despite their
importance as fundamental distance indicators. We still do not know if type
Ia explosions come from single degenerate binary stars or binaries made of
two white dwarfs. Recent models show that the secondary star in a single
degenerate binary will cause bright shock emission in the first hours or days
after the explosion while double degenerate explosions are expected to
brighten monotonically. We have been granted time on Kepler to monitor about
100 bright galaxies at z < 0.05 over the course of the year in the Kepler
field in order to obtain the early light curve of a couple of supernovae -
not only Ia but also core collapse supernova of which we can constrain the
physics of the early explosion. With our data set, no other experiment -
past, present, or presently planned - can match the time resolution and
continuous monitoring that we will achieve. We are proposing for three Target
of Opportunity observations of our candidate SN for spectral classification
and late time color evolution montioring to get a detailed view of the SN and
maximize our understanding of the progenitors that cause them.